The Taylor Family Blog Beginnings

The Spirit of Maxine: The Taylor Family Blog Spot
-- we know where we come from, we know where we belong --

The twenty-fifth Clark and Maxine Family Reunion seems a befitting time to start a family blog. Thank you for the timely input from the Honorable Mr. Mark Harris, the one who had to pass a test to marry into the Taylor's, and is, even now, nudging us into the modern cyber era.

Reunions have come and gone during the gentle unfolding of all our lives. We Elders remember Fort Cobb with fondness and appreciation, somehow it will always be intimately tangled up with memories of mother, but this reunion is the real reunion. Greenleaf is our joy parade.

The rules are simple: on the third Thursday and Friday of October meet at Greenleaf. Come with a tent, pop-up, air stream or Wussabago, but come. Camp, get a cabin, or sleep in a car, but come. And for twenty-five years we have.

Ask Jerry, Jean, and Jane who attended the first -- they will tell you!

Wind, rain, earth and fire became basic building blocks for memories while we, as family members, shared stories, laughter and tears. How many campfires have we admired dayglo orange and burnt umber coals? How many would it take for us to tire of them?

Not many fish were caught.

Milestones were marked, children were nurtured. Fiftieth birthdays became sixtieth birthdays, children became grandchildren, and some became Angels. Family fellowship was sustained, together, with family, extended family, adopted family, ex family and guests. The years rolled by.

One arrest and four trips to the emergency room.

I'd rather be a Taylor than married to one.

Jerry used to bring a trailer full of bikes, now it's chairs, comfortable chairs. My oh my times have changed. Chairs, windscreens, hot dogs, canoes, all of it contributes to a family gathering. Babies, Brits, and biscuits. Thousands of biscuits, all of them cooked by one person -- and eaten!

One Allie, two soldiers, one enthusiastically toppled tent.

A family film, night walks, scavenger hunts and an I-Love-You-Kiss going around the circle -- James

Camp coffee, salsa, Baileys and beer, apple pies aplenty, dissertation on farts, feed the ducks, or who builds the best fire, not a problem for families.

Jeff remembers the joke he told that woke up Ian.
Taking the kids to the play ground. Are you tired yet Cathy? You seem to be on a third generation.
James' tent, James' chairs.
Stealing leaves.
Jacquie's split up a tree.

Forts, hikes, bikes, and tykes a typical Taylor family reunion.

Family, clan, tribe -- we know where we came from, we know where we belong.